1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gaming machine which is executable a rescue process in which a payout, bonus, or the like is awarded in response to a predetermined game repeat count or lost game repeat count, and a gaming method of the gaming machine.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional slot machine is arranged so that, when a player inserts a game value such as a coin and bill into an insertion slot of the slot machine and pushes a spin button, plural symbols are scroll-displayed in a display mounted on a front of a cabinet and each of the symbols is then stopped automatically.
In such slot machine, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,999 B2, U.S. Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002065124A1, or U.S. Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 20040053676A1 for example, when the symbols stopped on a winning line constitute a predetermined combination, a predetermined number of game values is paid out. This slot machine is arranged so that a player first of all determines the number of game values to be inserted and runs a game after inserting the game values into the insertion slot of the slot machine, and receives the payout of game values when a predetermined combination (winning combination) is achieved or loses the inserted game values when the player lose the game.
Whichever the reels are stopped in response to the operation of the stop button or each reel is automatically stopped at a random timing, the ratio (payout rate) of accumulated game values obtained by previous winnings to the number of game values inserted into the insertion slot of the slot machine prior to the start of each game becomes more or less constant as many games are repeatedly played in the slot machine. For the reason above, the frequency of winning with which a lot of game values are paid out only by achieving a single winning and with which a benefit game (bonus game) in which a winning is achievable quite easily is generally arranged to occur for example once in 100 games, in consideration of the payout rate.
Because the frequency of winning is determined in consideration of probability as above, in some cases the great winning occurs twice in 100 games and in other cases the great winning does not occur in 200 or 300 games. When no winning is achieved after playing a lot of games, the player keeps losing the game values and hence he/she may lose interest in continuing the games.
To solve this problem of the loss of interest in the games, slot machines which are arranged so that the player does not lose interest in games even if the number of game values decreases have been developed. Such slot machines are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,390, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,459, U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,697, U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,483, U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,730, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,088, U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,981, U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,896, U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,016, U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,820, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,482, U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,731, U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,957, U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,048, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,402, U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,013, U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,709, U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,638, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,980, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,909, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,303, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,409, U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,533, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,817, U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,704, U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,707, U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,728, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,459, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,700, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,963, U.S. Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003/0069073, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1192975, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1302914, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1544811, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1477947, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1351180, European Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 0631798, German Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4137010, German Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3712841, German Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3242890, German Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10049444, British Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2326830, WO Publication No. 2004/095383, WO Publication No. 03/083795, WO Publication No. 2007/026396, WO Publication No. 2007/026401, WO Publication No. 2007/026400, WO Publication No. 2007/026406, WO Publication No. 2007/026399, WO Publication No. 2007/026407, WO Publication No. 2007/026402, WO Publication No. 2007/026403 and WO Publication No. 2007/026404. The slot machines disclosed in these documents have a rescue process function with which a payout or bonus is awarded in response to a predetermined game repeat count or lost game repeat count.
As described above, it has been desirable for slot machines to have various rescue process functions to keep the players not to lose expectation on payout and bonus.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine which is able to keep a player not to lose expectation by means of a rescue process function and a playing method thereof.